Army Trail Road is a county road in parts of DuPage and Kane Counties,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Army Trail Road begins at

Illinois Route 25 Illinois Route 25 (IL 25) is a state route in northeast Illinois. It runs north from U.S. Route 34 in Oswego to Illinois Route 62 (Algonquin Road) in Algonquin. Illinois 25 is in length. Route description Illinois Route 25 was opened in Aug ...

in Wayne and ends at the Addison Village Hall east of John F. Kennedy Drive in a cul de sac in

Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario United States *Addison, Alabama *Addison, Illinois *Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field * Addison, Kentucky *Addison, Maine *Addison, Michigan *Addison, New York ...

. Parts of Army Trail Road are signed as DuPage County Highway 11 and Kane County Highway 20.

Route description

Army Trail Road begins at a junction with Illinois 25 in Wayne. From here, the road heads east through a residential forested area to County Highway 19 (Dunham Road). Past Dunham Road, the road briefly becomes County Highway 20 before entering DuPage County. The road continues east through Wayne to Munger Road, where it becomes County Highway 11. Army Trail Road then passes

Illinois Route 59 Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfo ...

and heads east along the border of Bartlett and Carol Stream. The route passes to the north of two small lakes before entering a developed residential area. It continues east through Bloomingdale and Glendale Heights, intersecting County Highway 4 (Bloomingdale Road) near Black Hawk Elementary School. After passing County Highways 5 (Glen Ellyn Road) and 24 (Walter Road), the road runs through a county forest preserve before intersecting

Interstate 355 Interstate 355 (I-355), also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway, is an Interstate Highway and tollway in the western and southwest suburbs of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. Like most other toll roads in the northeastern portion of th ...

. Past the interstate, the road meets

Illinois Route 53 Illinois Route 53 (IL 53) is an arterial north–south state highway in northeast Illinois. IL 53 runs from Main Street west of historic U.S. Route 66 in Illinois, U.S. Route 66 (US 66) in Gardner, Illinois, Gardner to Illinois Rou ...

, the eastern terminus of County Highway 11. Army Trail Road continues through residential Addison, passing to the south of

Addison Trail High School Addison Trail High School (ATHS) is a public four-year high school in Addison, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in DuPage County, United States. It is located approximately half a mile east of Interstate 355 at the intersection of Army Trai ...

. The road ends at a cul-de-sac near Addison Village Hall; its terminus almost intersects

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

, which connects to Army Trail Road via John F. Kennedy Drive.

History

Army Trail Road followed an Indian Trail for early settlers who traveled in

covered wagon The covered wagon or prairie wagon, historically also referred to as an ambulance or prairie schooner, was a vehicle usually made out of wood and canvas that was used for transportation, prominently in 19th-century America. With roots in the he ...

s in the early 19th century that was part of a trail that continued on to Burlington Road running northwest until it reached

Galena, IL Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, with a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The c ...

. Its name is based on the fact that General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

's troops used this route during the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

. Near its end at the Fox River is a stone marking the graves of U.S. Army soldiers of the Indian War era. Until December 1989, Army Trail Road was the southern terminus of the freeway portion of Illinois Route 53, which was subsequently designated I-355. In December 1989, the North-South Tollway was opened extending the limited access highway south to I-55 and reducing the traffic flow caused by the concurrency of Route 53 and a short stretch of Army Trail Road. In late 2004, construction began on parts of the road to widen the road to six lanes. A divider was to be set in place including new turn lanes and paving of the road. Project has completed sections of the road in Addison and was expected to be completed in November 2005. It is four lanes in parts east of Illinois Highway 59 to a few hundred feet west of Illinois Highway 59 where it enters the Village of

Wayne, Illinois Wayne is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties, Illinois, United States. The eastern portion, in DuPage County, is in Wayne Township, DuPage County, Illinois, Wayne Township, while the western portio ...

. It remains two lanes to its western end at Illinois Highway 25 and is "rural" looking through Wayne and its horse farms.

Major intersections

References

{{Streets in Chicago Transportation in DuPage County, Illinois County roads in DuPage County, Illinois Transportation in Kane County, Illinois County roads in Kane County, Illinois